A mathematical model on the effect of M. denticulata weed on different winter crops

Many weeds interfere with the productivity of wheat and other winter annual crops; however, one common weed Medicago denticulata, appears to have a beneficial effect. An experiment was conducted at Agricultural Experimental Farm of the Indian Statistical Institute, Giridih, Jharkhand to observe the effect of M. denticulata (a legume) on different crops yield of barley (Hordeum vulgare Sensu lato), linseed (Linum usitatissimum L.), Indian mustard [Brassica juncea (L.) Czernj. & Cosson] and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). The commensalisms interaction was studied, in which one species benefits, while the other is unaffected, between the crops, M. denticulata and other weeds, to observe the role of medicago as biological control agent of other weeds for enhancement of crop productivity. Further, a statistical test was performed to establish the effect of M. denticulata and weed infestations based on one-step Markov structure of the covariance matrix of the biomass. This permitted development of a mathematical model of a crop–M. denticulata–other weeds system and their interactions through direct and indirect competition for resources. Crops yield decreased considerably due to the presence of other weeds, while it increased due to introduction of medicago and hence medicago acted as a controlling agent in a crop–M. denticulata–other weeds system. Our mathematical analysis supported the experimental findings. The model parameters are estimated through a nonlinear least square and stochastic differential equations. Moreover, some thresholds for the growth of medicago population came out from our analysis that may be used as a biological control threshold for the enhancement of crop productivity.     

玉米田养鹅措施对杂草群落生态特征的影响

探索如何在利用和控制农田杂草的同时又能维持较高的杂草群落多样性的生产方式, 是当前农业发展的重要方向。作者以“农牧一体化”生产方式下的“玉米(Zea mays)田养鹅”处理和常规玉米种植处理为研究对象, 探讨了玉米田养鹅处理放牧前后及同期常规玉米种植处理下杂草生态位、功能群结构和杂草群落生物多样性的变化。结果表明: (1)在玉米田养鹅模式下, 黑麦草(Lolium multiflorum)、紫花苜蓿(Medicago sativa)和灰绿藜(Chenopodium glaucum)在放牧前的生态位宽度较大, 但放牧后黑麦草、紫花苜蓿的生态位宽度减小, 而灰绿藜、尼泊尔蓼(Polygonum nepalense)、西南草莓(Fragaria moupinensis)和老鹳草(Geranium sibiricum)等物种的生态位宽度则有不同程度的增大, 放牧后群落内新增加了7种杂草; 对照中, 前期丝叶球柱草(Bulbostylis densa)的生态位宽度最大, 而后期鼠麹草(Gnaphalium affine)的生态位宽度变为最大, 新增2种杂草。(2)放牧前玉米田养鹅处理下的黑麦草和紫花苜蓿的重叠度最大, 而放牧后黑麦草和西南草莓的重叠度变为最大; 在常规玉米种植模式下, 前期丝叶球柱草和马唐(Digitaria sanguinalis)的重叠度最高, 而后期丝叶球柱草和鼠麹草的重叠度最高。(3)两种模式下放牧前后均是一年生双子叶(DA)杂草功能群占据最大优势, 但玉米田养鹅处理模式下放牧后多年生功能类群所占的比例较放牧前增加, 且分配更均匀。(4)放牧前, 玉米田养鹅处理的Shannon-Wiener多样性指数、Margalef物种丰富度指数和Simpson多样性指数均高于对照, 其中Shannon-Wiener多样性指数和Margalef物种丰富度指数差异显著(P<0.05, n=3), 而Pielou均匀度指数低于对照, 但差异并不显著(P>0.05, n=3); 放牧后玉米田养鹅处理的Shannon-Wiener多样性指数和Margalef物种丰富度指数仍显著高于对照(P<0.05, n=3), 而Pielou均匀度指数和Simpson多样性指数则分别显著低于对照 (P<0.05, n=3)。放牧前后, 玉米田养鹅处理杂草群落的地上总生物量均高于对照, 但差异不显著(P>0.05, n=3)。(5)玉米田养鹅处理的玉米产量与对照相比减产4.0%, 但并未达到显著差异(P>0.05, n=12)。总的来看, 玉米田养鹅生产方式维持了较高的农田生态系统生物多样性, 虽然造成了一定的减产, 但可通过鹅的产出获得更高的经济效益。     

Effect of fertilization patterns on the assemblage of weed communities in an upland winter wheat field

Aims Understanding the response of farmland weed community assembly to fertilization is important for designing better nutrient management strategies in integrated farmland ecological systems. Many studies have focused on weed characteristics, mainly crop–weed competition responses to fertilization or weed communities alone. However, weed community assembly in association with crop growth is poorly understood in the agroecosystems, but is important for the determination of integrated weed management. Biodiversity promotes ecosystem productivity in the grassland, but whether it applies to the agroecosystems is unclear. Based on an 11-year field experiment, the cumulative effects of different fertilization patterns on the floristic composition and species diversity of farmland weed communities along with wheat growth in a winter wheat–soybean rotation were investigated.Methods The field trial included five fertilization patterns with different combinations of N, P and K fertilizers. Species composition and diversity of weed communities, aboveground plant biomass and nutrient accumulation of weeds and winter wheat, light penetration to the ground surface and wheat yield were measured at each plot in 2009 and 2010. Multivariate analysis, regression and analysis of variance were used to analyze the responses of these parameters to the different fertilization treatments.Important findings Four dominant weeds (Galium aparine L., Veronica persica Poir., Vicia sativa L. and Geranium carolinianum L.) accounted for ~90% of the total weed density in the 2 years of experimental duration. The residual weed community assembly was influenced primarily by topsoil available nutrients in the order P> N> K. Competition for nutrients and solar radiation between crops and weeds was the main indirect effect of fertilization on the changes in weed community composition and species diversity. The indices of species diversity (species richness, Shannon–Wiener, Pielou and Simpson indices) showed significant linear relationships with wheat yield. The balanced fertilization treatment was more efficient at inhibiting the potential growth of weeds because of solar radiation being intercepted by wheat. These results support the conclusion that wheat yield is favored by balanced fertilization, whereas the weed community is favored by PK fertilization in terms of density and diversity. However, the negative effects on wheat yield may be compromised by simultaneous positive effects of weed communities in the fertilization treatments, for instance, the NP and NK treatments, which are intermediate in terms of increasing wheat production and to a level maintaining a diverse community.     

长期不同施肥方式对麦田杂草群落的影响

以太湖地区农业科学研究所31a的长期肥料定位试验田为材料,分别于2011—2012年小麦苗期、拔节期和收获期进行了杂草群落调查,研究杂草类型与密度的分布、杂草多样性指数的变化,并对杂草种群分布与土壤养分因子进行冗余分析。结果表明:小飞蓬、看麦娘、大巢菜、稻槎菜、通泉草是本地区小麦生长期的主要杂草类型;随着小麦的生长以及氮肥、有机肥的施入,杂草密度呈下降趋势;施入有机肥降低了麦季杂草的群落多样性指数,在小麦生长的不同时期均衡施肥的CNPK处理以及不施肥的C0处理的群落各项多样性指数能维持在一个较高的水平。RDA分析显示土壤氮含量以及有机质含量与第一排序轴相关性大,是对杂草分布影响最大的两个土壤养分因子。太湖地区稻麦两熟制条件下,长期有机无机肥料单一或配合投入可显著影响麦田杂草的群落组成,其中氮肥和有机肥的施入能显著降低杂草密度;土壤养分的差异影响田面杂草密度和优势种群,均衡施肥能降低优势杂草种群的优势地位,抑制其发生危害程度,提高农田生态系统的生产力及稳定性。     

Evaluation of the bioherbicide Myrothecium verrucaria for weed control in tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum)

An isolate of the fungus Myrothecium verrucaria was evaluated for its biocontrol potential against common purslane, horse purslane, spotted spurge, and prostrate spurge, all serious weed pests in commercial tomato fields in the southeastern US. In greenhouse and field tests, M. verrucaria was highly virulent against these weeds when applied as conidial sprays formulated in 0.2% Silwet L-77 surfactant, even in the absence of dew. In field test plots naturally infested with these weeds, seedlings in the two-to-three leaf growth stage treated with M. verrucaria at 2×10⁷ conidia mL^-1 in 0.2% Silwet, exhibited leaf and stem necrosis within 24 h following inoculation, with mortality occurring within 96 h. After 7 days, M. verrucaria had killed 90-95% of both purslane species and 85-95% of both spurge species. Tomatoes that were transplanted into plots treated with M. verrucaria remained healthy and vigorous throughout the growing season. Since M. verrucaria effectively controlled several common weeds under field conditions, this fungus appears to have potential as an effective bioherbicide for pre-plant weed control in production systems with transplanted tomato.     

Cereal weeds variation in middle Egypt: Role of crop family in weed composition

Cereals occupies a major part in the diet of humans globally, participating more to our daily protein and calorie intake than any other crop. The present study highlight the weed flora of cereal crops compared to other crops in middle Egypt and their distribution. Ninety-two weed species were recorded in the all studied crops, cereal and other crops; in the studied area belong to 67 genera and 20 families. Egyptian clover; showed the highest numbers of both weed species and genera followed by wheat, on contrast the lowest weed species and genera numbers were recorded associated with Solanaceous crops tomato and pepper. Wheat crops exhibited the highest number of weed species, among cereals, followed by maize crop, while the lowest weed species number was detected in barley crop. Chenopodium murale, Cynodon dactylon, Convolvulus arvensis and Malva parviflora were the most frequent species in winter cereals, while Echinochloa colona, P. oleraceae were the most frequent weeds in summer cereals. Chorological analysis of the recorded weed species showed that cosmopolitan elements showed the highest numbers in total weed flora Differences in weed species compositions were fundamentally influenced by seasonal priority. Based on TWINSPAN and Ward classifications, crop family showed slightly effect as a factor affecting weed composition.     

保护性耕作对陇东黄土高原轮作田杂草的影响

以陇东黄土高原旱地连续12年保护性耕作为基础,通过田间取样调查,研究了4种耕作措施下冬小麦-箭筈豌豆-玉米轮作田中杂草的组成和群落特征.结果表明： 不同作物生长期的杂草种类、密度和群落特征各异.免耕使冬小麦生长期杂草密度显著增大,轮作箭筈豌豆后免耕处理的杂草密度变小;秸秆覆盖显著降低了玉米生长期的杂草密度,玉米生长期免耕+秸秆覆盖处理的杂草密度最低.冬小麦和箭筈豌豆轮作前后杂草的群落多样性特征完全相反,从冬小麦生长期到箭筈豌豆生长期,免耕处理杂草群落的多样性指数先高于常规耕作处理,后期低于常规耕作处理;玉米生长期免耕处理的多样性指数均大于其他3种处理.因此,免耕和秸秆覆盖在一些作物生长期能抑制杂草的发生和分布,3种作物轮作对杂草防治具有明显作用.     

Weed Management in Rice: Wheat Rotation by Allelopathy

Rice is major crop in India and its cultivation in northwest India started 25 to 30 years ago in assured irrigation areas during the summer rainy season. In this region, rice-wheat rotation became most popular owing to its high yields; however, these crops are highly infested by the weeds, thus farmers use herbicides for their control. Hence, this rotation consumes a maximum quantity of herbicides in this region, which has resulted in several problems (environmental pollution, human health hazards, development of herbicide resistance in weeds). Thus, serious ecological questions about the reliance on herbicides for weed control in this rotation have been raised. One of the alternatives to overcome these problems is with the use of allelopathic strategies, including the use of weed-smothering crops for weed management and for the sustainability of agriculture. The field, pot culture, and laboratory studies have shown that inclusion of weed-smothering crops in rotation considerably reduced the weed population in the current and succeeding crops. Early summer (April-June) fodder crops of sorghum, pearlmillet and maize drastically smothered the weed population and biomass. The residual suppression effect of peralmillet also persisted in the next crop up to 45 days. Thus, it is conceptualized that the inclusion of such summer fodder crops before the rice crop in the rice-wheat rotation may provide satisfactory weed control in the succeeding rice crop and may minimize the use of herbicides. Likewise, the replacement of wheat by winter fodder crops of oat and berseem (Trifolium alexandrinum) may also help in the control of winter weeds. Hence, further studies in this direction may provide satisfactory weed management in rice-wheat rotation and may minimize the use of herbicides and thereby help indeveloping sustainable agricultural practices.     

Allelopathic effect of Bromus spp. and Lolium spp. shoot extracts on some crops

Allelopathy is an untapped resource for weed control in crops that could give good possibilities for environmentally sound, integrated crop production. Allelopathy is defined as the direct or indirect harmful or beneficial effects of one plant on another through the production of chemical compounds, called allelochemicals, which escape into the environment. Allelochemicals can be produced by weeds and affect crops, and the reverse is also true. Allelopathic interactions include weed-weed, weed-crop, and crop-crop. Allelopathy offers potential for selective biological weed control for instance weed-suppressing crops and the use of plant residues in cropping systems, allelopathic rotational crops, or companion plants with allelopathic potential. Bromus species occur in many habitats in temperate regions of the world, including America, Eurasia, Australia, and Africa. The genus Lolium is one of the most important forage grasses. The weed species usually grow in the same production zones as wheat and are considered weeds since they parasitize wheat fields. Some of the weed species in these two genus have been reported to have allelopathic effect. One of the methods that has been successful in studying allelopathic activity are bioassays. Laboratory experiments were conducted to determine allelopathic effect of watery shoot extracts of four weed species of the Poaceae family, namely Bromus rigidus, Bromus diandrus, Lolium multiflorum and Lolium temulentum on germination and growth of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), spring barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), corn (Zea mays L), perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.), bean (Phaseolus sp.) and sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) and on each other. The experiment was carried out during the period March 2010 to October 2010. Twenty five seeds were put into one Petri-dish on filter paper, adding 15ml of extract to each in four repeats. The germination took place in a Binder-type thermostat in the dark. The timing of germination was checked in every two days and the rate of growth was estimated after a week, by counting the number of germinated seeds and measuring the length of the radicle and plumule. The measured data was statistically analyzed and the effect of the extracts on germination percentage and seedling length was evaluated.     

Measuring the ecological preference for growth of 150 of the most influential weeds in weed community structure associated with agronomic and horticultural crops

The phytosociological researches which intent for studying the performance of weeds and the structure of weed assemblages associated with different crops derives their importance mainly from the adverse effect of weeds on crop productivity. Consequently, it is worth questioning about the ecological preferences of the weed growth in response to three main drivers for weed community structure associated with agronomic, and horticultural crops: crop diversification, crop seasonality, and soil type. A study area was selected comprising farmland of Nile Delta and its adjoining east and west territories, Egypt. A total of 555 species were recorded in 30 agroecosystems monitored and depending on species frequency/abundance values, 150 species were designated as the most influential weeds in weed community structure associated with agronomic and horticultural crops. The ecological preference of species for crop seasonality was evident through the results of Agglomerative hierarchical clustering. Three weed assemblage groups (WAG) identified: WAG A associated with winter agronomic crops, WAG B associated with summer agronomic crops, and WAG C associated with perennial agronomic crops and horticultural crops (orchards). Their diversity evaluated at different levels. The growth preference of the 150 species which were assigned as most influential weeds was gauged in response to the three environmental variables. 61 species were faithful to WAG A, 45 to WAG B, and 44 to WAG C. Concerning crop diversification, 34-species were significantly affected and scored coefficient of variation ≥ 100%. As for soil type, indicator species analysis revealed that 66-species show growth preference in fine grained soil while 84-species prefer coarse grained soil. In the three vegetation units (WAG A – C), 12 within-group associations (alliances) were specified of less-common (differential) species. The record of these alliances match to a specific environmental condition (ecological niche) and in them 29 strong indicators are identified. Redundancy analysis was used to extract and summarize the variation in species records in the response matrix (species vs. sites) that can be explained by the three different types of growth preference (explanatory variables), and the partial linear effect of them was evaluated by variation partitioning.     

A major change in monsoon-driven productivity in the tropical Indian Ocean during ca 1.2–0.9 Myr: Foraminiferal faunal and stable isotope data

Tropical climate is variable on astronomical time scale, driving changes in surface and deep-sea fauna during the Pliocene–Pleistocene. To understand these changes in the tropical Indian Ocean over the past 2.36 Myr, we quantitatively analyzed deep-sea benthic foraminifera and selected planktic foraminifera from > 125 μm size fraction from Deep Sea Drilling Project Site 219. The data from Site 219 was combined with published foraminiferal and isotope data from Site 214, eastern Indian Ocean to determine the nature of changes. Factor and cluster analyses of the 28 highest-ranked species distinguished four biofacies, characterizing distinct deep-sea environmental settings. These biofacies have been named after their most dominant species such as Stilostomella lepidula–Pleurostomella alternans (Sl–Pa), Nuttallides umbonifer–Globocassidulina subglobosa (Nu–Gs), Oridorsalis umbonatus–Gavelinopsis lobatulus (Ou–Gl) and Epistominella exigua–Uvigerina hispido-costata (Ee–Uh) biofacies. Biofacies Sl–Pa ranges from ~ 2.36 to 0.55 Myr, biofacies Nu–Gs ranges from ~ 1.9 to 0.65 Myr, biofacies Ou–Gl ranges from ~ 1 to 0.35 Myr and biofacies Ee–Uh ranges from 1.1 to 0.25 Myr. The proxy record indicates fluctuating tropical environmental conditions such as oxygenation, surface productivity and organic food supply. These changes appear to have been driven by changes in monsoonal wind intensity related to glacial–interglacial cycles. A shift at ~ 1.2–0.9 Myr is observed in both the faunal and isotope records at Site 219, indicating a major increase in monsoon-induced productivity. This coincides with increased amplitude of glacial cycles, which appear to have influenced low latitude monsoonal climate as well as deep-sea conditions in the tropical Indian Ocean.     

Increased Productivity of a Cover Crop Mixture Is Not Associated with Enhanced Agroecosystem Services

Cover crops provide a variety of important agroecological services within cropping systems. Typically these crops are grown as monocultures or simple graminoid-legume bicultures; however, ecological theory and empirical evidence suggest that agroecosystem services could be enhanced by growing cover crops in species-rich mixtures. We examined cover crop productivity, weed suppression, stability, and carryover effects to a subsequent cash crop in an experiment involving a five-species annual cover crop mixture and the component species grown as monocultures in SE New Hampshire, USA in 2011 and 2012. The mean land equivalent ratio (LER) for the mixture exceeded 1.0 in both years, indicating that the mixture over-yielded relative to the monocultures. Despite the apparent over-yielding in the mixture, we observed no enhancement in weed suppression, biomass stability, or productivity of a subsequent oat (Avena sativa L.) cash crop when compared to the best monoculture component crop. These data are some of the first to include application of the LER to an analysis of a cover crop mixture and contribute to the growing literature on the agroecological effects of cover crop diversity in cropping systems.     

连续13年稻鸭共作兼秸秆还田的稻麦连作麦田杂草种子库物种多样性变化

稻鸭共作能有效控制稻田杂草的危害, 但是它对后茬小麦田杂草的影响及其控制作用尚没有详细的报道。我们于2000-2012年对江苏丹阳稻鸭共作兼秸秆还田的有机稻麦连作田土壤杂草种子库进行了连续13年的观察实验。结果显示, 稻鸭共作兼秸秆还田的措施使看麦娘(Alopecurus aequalis)、通泉草(Mazus japonicus)、碎米荠(Cardamine hirsuta)等18种麦田主要杂草的种子库均有较大幅度的降低, 总体的降低幅度高达97%。除了Pielou指数处于小幅波动状态外, 麦田杂草群落多样性指数整体呈下降趋势。丰富度下降表明杂草种子库向种类少、多样性低的方向演变。从Bray-Curtis指数和Jaccard相似性指数也可以得到同样的结论。可见, 连续稻鸭共作兼秸秆还田能够降低下茬的麦田土壤里杂草种子密度及多样性, 控制杂草危害。     

Weed species differ in their ability to emerge in no‐till systems that include cover crops

No‐till cropping systems that include cover crops could lead to important changes in weed communities by decreasing some annual weed populations. In this study, we predicted that seed burial depth and the presence of cover crop would affect the emergence and initial growth success of annual weed species. We tested two factors on 14 weed species in a greenhouse: the seed burial depth of weeds (buried versus soil surface) and the presence/absence of a cover crop (ryegrass). We counted the emerged seedlings and measured the height of weeds and cover crops (Hweed, Hcover), the dry matter content of weeds and cover crops (DMCweed, DMCcover) and the number of leaves of weeds (NLweed) on 1433 weed and 390 ryegrass individuals. Emergence of five weed species (AMBEL, ANGAR, BROST, CENCY and EPHHE) was affected by the seed location (?10.3% on average for unburied seeds), five other weed species (ALOMY, CAPBP, SONAS, VERPE and VLPMY) were affected by cover (on average ?9.5% for seeds emerged in the presence of cover crop), and four weed species (GERDI, LAMPU, POAAN and VIOAR) were not affected by either. Weed growth of all weed species also decreased with the presence of a cover crop (on average Hweed: ?49.9%, DMCweed: ?87.2% and NLweed: ?55.4%) and for unburied seeds (on average Hweed: ?33.7%, DMCweed: ?70.6% and NLweed: ?43.3%), with various responses according to species. This study indicates that annual weeds could be disadvantaged by no‐till systems using cover crops.     

Complementing cultural weed control with plant allelopathy: Implications for improved weed management in wheat crop

Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is an important cereal crop in Pakistan which is suffering from major grain production loss because of weed infestations. Control of weeds by herbicides is a primary weed management tool in wheat crop which can be detrimental to the environment and grain produce. Development of an efficient and eco-friendly alternate to the herbicidal weed control, testing the effectiveness of cultural weed control (crop row orientation, selected wheat genotypes and hand weeding) and plants water extracts was undertaken for weed control in wheat. An experiment was run under field conditions in winter season in 2016–2017 and in 2017–2018 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan. The repeated experiment was each time undertaken using a randomized complete block design with a double split plot arrangements at the New Developmental Farm, University of Agriculture, Peshawar, Pakistan. The crop row orientations used were assigned to the main plots. The wheat genotypes used were assigned to the sub-plots. The allelopathic water extracts and hand weeding were assigned to the sub-sub plots. The averaged mean values for row orientations of both the years revealed lowest weed density (95.7 weeds m^?2), highest grains per spike (47.3), 1000 grains weight (44.7 g) in north to south row orientation. The averaged mean values of weed density (101.6 weeds m^?2), grains per spike (48.2), 1000 grains weight (45.9 g), crude protein content (12.793%), crude fat content (1.533%) and ash content (1.586%) were greater for the wheat genotype Pirsabaq-2013 and Atta-Habib-2010. Water extract of S. halepense, P. hysterophorus, H. annuus and hand weeding showed significantly lower weed density (84.0 to 93.3), grains per spike (50.9 to 48.3), 1000 grains weight (48.3 to 46.2 g), grains protein content (12.280 to 12.209%), grains crude fat content (1.471 to 1.464%) and grains ash content (1.523 to 1.515%). Interaction effect of different tested weed control treatments i.e. N-S × Pirsabaq-2013 and Atta-Habib-2010 × water extract of S. halepense, P. hysterophorus and H. annuus were found to show further reduction in weed density and enhance grains per spike and grains nutrition contributing parameters. Our results show that sowing wheat genotypes Pirsabaq-2013 and Atta-Habib-2010 in north-to-south row orientation, and application of water extract of S. halepense, P. hysterophorus, H. annuus can give an effective weed management and increased quality grain yield of wheat.     

Effects of tillage systems on wheat and weed water relationships over time when growing together,in semiarid conditions

Water availability directly influences interactions and competition between weeds and crops. This article is based on the idea that relative water content (RWC) indicates the water uptake within plants and that it is possible to explain the water relationships between plants that are growing together. A field experiment carried out for 3 years (2013–2014, 2014–2015 and 2015–2016) compared the short-term effects of years and tillage systems on wheat grain yield, weed density, wheat-RWC, weed-RWC and soil water content (SWC), at tillering and flowering stages in a winter wheat monoculture system. The three tillage treatments were conventional tillage (CT), minimum tillage (MT) and no-tillage (NT). Wheat grain yield was low all years of study, because of low interannual rainfall, and we did not observe differences between tillage systems. Weed density was also affected by year and not by tillage systems. Lowest winter rainfall (73.4 mm from Nov to Feb) in the last year of the study (2015–2016), decreased the weed density in all tillage systems. Despite the rainfall variability over the 3 years of study, the NT system presented higher weed density (73 plants/m²) than MT and CT systems (39.83 and 46.33 plants/m²). We also observed a higher number of weed species for the NT system, facilitated by a high soil water storage in this system. The wheat-RWC, at tillering stage, varied with years and tillage systems; we found that high winter rainfall (2013–2014) led to higher values in CT (64.5%) compared with MT (52.9%) and NT plots (52.9%). Weed-RWC values did not vary and SWC was greater in NT than in CT and MT. At flowering stage, the year (2015–2016) with highest spring rainfall favoured higher wheat-RWC in NT (56.9%) compared with CT (48.3%). However, the lowest spring rainfall coincided with the lowest weed-RWC, (18% in NT plots) and SWC was always higher in NT soils. The results showed that climatic conditions affected the water competence dynamics between weeds and wheat in different ways. Seemingly, weeds can tolerate a lack of water availability until crop tillering stage independently of tillage system; however, the competition for water was not a problem as crops overcame the high weed density by flowering stage.     

模拟化感作物种植密度对杂草种群数量的作用

具化感作用的作物其种植密度会影响杂草的种群动态。本研究应用数学模型作为分析问题的工具,对作物化感作用下杂草种群动态进行了模型分析和计算机模拟,结果表明,当作物的种植密度较大时,杂草的种群动态数量可以得到有效的控制;而当作物种植密度低于一定数量时,其化感作用对杂草的种群动态数量影响不大。     

Genetic diversity of Darnel (Lolium temulentum L.) in Malo, Ethiopia depends on traditional farming systems

Genetic Diversity of Darnel (Lolium temulentum L.) in Malo, Ethiopia Depends on Traditional Farming Systems. Economic Botany 58(4):568–577, 2004. Darnel (Lolium temulentum L.) is a mimic weed associated with wheat and barley cultivation. Mimic weeds have evolved along with cultivated crops. Human impact on the genetic diversity of agricultural weeds was elucidated using darnel as a model. Three strains in each field in Gaitza village, Malo region, Ethiopia were randomly sampled, and the genetic composition of 120 samples was analyzed using RAPD analysis. Genetic diversity and distances were calculated using Nei’s analysis, and cluster analysis was performed. These results indicated the occurrence of seed migration among the fields and a high genetic diversity of darnel in this region. Crop seed exchange and contamination of crop seeds with darnel seeds lead to the unintended artificial gene flow of darnel. Because darnel seeds and seedlings resemble their associated crop seeds and seedlings, traditional methods of crop cultivation have the unintended consequence of conserving the genetic diversity of darnel.     

Assessing broomrape risk due to weeds in cropping systems with an indicator linked to a simulation model

Integrated crop protection tolerates residual weed floras if they are not harmful for crop production. These weeds can host harmful crop pests, among which parasitic plants such as branched broomrape (Phelipanche ramosa). This holoparasite is responsible for large yield losses in French crops such as oilseed rape. To date, there are no herbicides available to control it. To evaluate ex ante the impact of crop management practices on weed-mediated parasite infection of crops, we developed an indicator calculated from outputs of the weed dynamics model FlorSys. It consists of three components assessing weed impact on (1) stimulation of parasite germination during the whole cropping season, i.e. the potential risk reduction for future crops via a reduction of the parasite seed bank, (2) the stimulation of parasite germination in host crops, i.e. the potential risk increase for the current crop, (3) parasite reproduction on weed plants, i.e. the potential risk increase for future crops. This indicator was then used to predict weed-mediated broomrape risk in cropping systems from six regions from France and one from Spain. Antagonisms and synergies with other indicators of weed-harmfulness for crop production and weed contribution to plant and functional biodiversity were investigated with Pearson correlation analyses. For instance, cropping systems with a high parasite risk also had a high functional biodiversity (e.g. weed-based food offer for bees). Effects of crop management practices on the weed-mediated parasite risk indicator were identified with linear models; regression trees were used to identify the combinations of management practices that maximised or minimised weed-mediated broomrape risk. Parasite risk depended on crop rotation, sowing and harvest dates, tillage, herbicides and mechanical weeding. The lowest risk was observed in fields that were last tilled less than 21 days before sowing, with more than 0.6 herbicides per year (i.e. 3 applications in 5 years) with multiple entry modes into the weeds (e.g. leaves and roots) and the last herbicide sprayed no later than 127 days before harvest. RLQ analyses were used to identify correlations between weed species traits (Q matrix) and simulated parasite risk (R matrix), via simulated weed densities (L matrix). Early summer-emerging weed species increased parasite risk. No other notable correlations were found, indicating that parasite risk results from a weed community of interacting species, and not simply from individual weed species. An advice table was built to summarize and explain the effects of crop management practices on weed-mediated parasite risk.